City Council mulls life with fewer revenues

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, April 26, 2001 | 9:47 a.m.

It was early into Wednesday's five-hour budget workshop that Las Vegas City Council members reluctantly agreed that this fiscal year the city will have to do more with less.

Residents may not see any property tax increases, but the proposed 2002 budget, which begins July 1, leaves little money for parks, community centers and other capital improvements.

Of the city's $220 million capital budget, which is separate from the general fund, only $5 million is proposed for projects such as parks and programs, city finance director Mark Vincent said. The majority of capital funds are proposed for ongoing projects and flood and street improvements.

A 4 percent increase in revenues is all the city is expecting for the coming fiscal year, the lowest growth rate in the last five years. Consolidated tax revenues, distributed by the state and driven by sales taxes, are also down.

City leaders are also taking a cautious approach to spending because of two legislative bills that could reduce the city's revenue.

"Hopefully we are representing our constituents well in trying to prepare ourselves for all contingencies," Mayor Oscar Goodman said.

Assembly Bill 653, which cleared the Assembly Tuesday, would shift the tax distribution rate in Clark County. The city is expecting a $3 million hit if the bill is approved.

Assembly Bill 457 is also on the minds of city leaders, but its implications have not been factored into the budget. That bill would shift the share of the motor vehicle privilege tax collected by local governments to school districts and would cost the city about $9.5 million in the first year following the passage.

Goodman said the thought of raising property taxes to make up for the potential loss of revenue is far from his mind.

"I don't even want to think about it," he said. "Historically (raising taxes) has not been a city function and we're doing everything we can to make sure the state doesn't shift the burden to us."

The city will have a second budget workshop May 15 and the final budget must be filed June 1.

The focus of this year's $334 million general fund budget, Vincent said, is to ensure public safety needs are covered first. Of the 60 new city staff positions proposed, 47 are directly related to public safety.

Of the general fund, 53 percent is dedicated to safety.

Most city departments won't see budget increases over last year, Vincent said. Those that will, including Metro Police and the fire department, are due to mandates in their collective bargaining agreement, which require increases for salary and benefit costs.

The budget also includes an extra $2.2 million to pay for rising power costs.

City Council members expressed concern that projects that had been partially funded may go unused for awhile.

For instance, Howard Hughes Corp. is building a $3 million pool in City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald's ward, which is expected to be completed soon and turned over to the city.

But Boggs McDonald said there may not be money available to operate the pool.